German comedies from the 1950's and 1960's aren't so different from Bollywood movies – or American comedies from the same era: harmless, family-friendly humor, an inevitable love story, plenty of cheap, catchy music and insights into the human psyche that goes no deeper than a snake's shadow. Often enough, the German products would emulate their US-counterparts to the point where even the actors would look vaguely similar. In this case, Liselotte Pulver and Dietmar Schönherr were virtual clones of Julie Andrews and Jack Lemmon. It's everything you would expect from a Bob Hope-slash-Doris Day-like comedy – but with a touch of the (in this case Swiss) Alps.
Pulver plays the student Liesel who, disillusioned by the life in the big city, returns home to her native Swiss hamlet Hinterflu. On her tail is the Gigolo-like Guenther (Schönherr), who has instantly fallen in love with Liesel and who takes a job as aid at the farm-turned-tourist resort of Liesel's father. Guenthers main obstacles are Liesel's current boyfriend Tony (Helmut Schmid), the opportunistic Rolf (Peter Vogel), who wants to get his hands on the property and mainly Liesel's twin-sister Susi (also Pulver), a nightmare of a woman; ill-mouthed and ugly as the night itself. Liesel's father (Heinrich Gretler) has worries of his own: according to his late wife's will, Susi must marry before Liesel, which, considering Susis looks and demeanor, seems an impossible feat.
As mentioned, this is as family-friendly as it gets. Pulver is fantastic in her double role; at times it is hard to believe that the lovely Liesel and boorish Susi are played by the same person. Schönherr comes across like a Jack Lemmon in his freshest days. Tragic actor Vogel (beloved by Austrians for his roles in the TV-series "Kottan Ermittelt"; the actor committed suicide in 1978) plays a character that is slimy and sympathetic at the same time, and Schmid milks his role as the loutish yet cunning and strangely charming farm-aid. In other words: it's a movie of likable characters.
Compared to many "stiff" German comedies of the time, this film seems much more generic, well-spirited than many other contemporary works, relying on the characters rather than flat slapstick-humour (especially in comparison to the "Wirtshaus im Spessart"-movies, which likewise star Pulver); a perfect film to pick up one's spirit on a rainy afternoon.
Like other reviewers, I'm slightly flabbergasted by the low rating and do, what I rarely do: I give the movie a straight 10 (if those kinds of films are your cup of tea, that is).
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